Mom's Banana Bread

This recipe is very dear to my heart because it evokes the memory of my mom pulling a fresh baked loaf of banana bread from the oven on Saturday mornings.  Hmmmmmmm... I can just smell it now -  fresh, warm, banana, filling up the whole house with it's sweet aroma.  I remember cutting out a piece while it was still hot and savoring the flavors of the speckled little bread.  SO GOOD!

So, you can see why I had to come up with a way that I could still enjoy this treat but tweak it to fit the whole foods, plant-based lifestyle.

The challenges:  what to do about the eggs and buttermilk called for in the original recipe.  Everything else could have been left exactly the same but, I chose to substitute out some of the sugar the original recipe calls for with honey and applesauce which, did double duty as an egg substitute and as a alternative sweetener.

Shopping List:
2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1/2 c. clover honey
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
3 well ripened bananas
4 Tbl. milk alternative (use to make buttermilk)

From the Pantry:
4 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. white distilled vinegar (use to make buttermilk)
1 Tbl. pumpkin pie spice
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Tools:
3 mixing bowls
large spoon
whisk

Preparation:  You'll need to make 4 Tbls. buttermilk for this recipe.  To do that, combine milk and vinegar and let stand while you prep all other ingredients*.  Combine sugar, vegetable shortening, applesauce, and honey in one bowl and whisk together until ingredients are well blended.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder and salt.  Peel and mash three bananas and set aside in another bowl.  Add baking soda to buttermilk.  Add alternately with flour mixture to sugar mixture.  Add vanilla and mashed bananas.  Using a large spoon, portion out mixture into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Makes about 24 muffins.

This recipe is simply divine.  I've served them warm, just out of the oven, with a dollop of coconut milk, vanilla ice cream and the experience is take-a-moment, eyes-closed good.  My husband also enjoys having a few for breakfast with his morning coffee.

The addition of the honey and applesauce makes these muffins super moist and they retain that consistency well after they've fully cooled.  I've so enjoyed sharing this recipe and I truly hope you'll try this one out for yourself.  They're seriously SO GOOD!




*Be forewarned, when you make this buttermilk, it make look like the components of your milk alternative have separated.  In other words, it's not going to look right after you let it stand for a little while.  But don't worry.  It will mix together and bake up just fine.

Just Squash It

I don't know about you but, I love summer squash.  The name alone evokes thoughts of my favorite time of year.  It's vibrant yellow color… how versatile it is… it's just good stuff.  So, I'm going to share a dish with you that's all about celebrating this sunny beauty.

Shopping List:
1 lg. summer squash
4 md. white mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic

From the Pantry:
salt
pepper
paprika
1 Tbl. olive oil
olive oil cooking spray

Tools:
frying pan
cutting board
knife

Preparation:  Dice garlic cloves.  Move garlic to frying pan on medium heat and brown it while you slice up the squash and mushrooms.  Once garlic has browned (about 5 minutes) pour olive oil into frying pan and add squash.  Spray top of squash with olive oil spray and sprinkle with S & P and paprika.  Stir, and continue to cook on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes or until squash starts to become tender.  Then add mushrooms and repeat with another round of olive oil spray and seasonings.  Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat and you're done!  So simple right?!

My man gobbled this right up so, it's hungry man approved.

This is a very basic recipe which I'm sure could be enhanced in many ways.  Let me know what you think and the creative ways you improve on this dish.








Makes about 4 servings at about 60 calories each… yeah, I know… bonkers!  That's what's so great about veggies.  You could eat this entire thing for a meal and it would only be about 240 calories with 120 of those calories coming from the tablespoon of olive oil alone.  Forego the oil and you've got yourself an extremely light dish.